


reach me down

by actualflower



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: (sort of), Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I mean it's kinda happy, Multi, Nightmares, Post-Torture Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, and be like 'wtf is this shit', bc i dont want anyone to show up, but i wanted to warn for it, or be triggered, post-TFA, that is Not Fun, the character death is in a nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5535899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualflower/pseuds/actualflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe Dameron deals with the effects of having someone forcibly root around in their mind without permission. Luckily, he doesn't have to deal with it alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	reach me down

**Author's Note:**

> heyo guess who wrote poe-centric jedistormpilot hurt/comfort fic. poe has a nightmare, fin and rey come help. poor poe. i mean, having someone root around in your brain has to fuck some shit up, man. this is poe, trying to deal with it. serious warning about the beginning nightmare description: it is not fun, it is not pleasant, it involves heavy description of character death and torture. please don’t read this if that bothers you - i don’t want anyone to be triggered. i do promise there’s some comfort at the end tho :D nice cuddles for the pilot bc he deserves them. c: anyway, enjoy!

Poe can feel the metal restraints clamped tight around his wrists. He’s back on the Star Destroyer. Captured. Again. Harsh light glints off every piece of exposed chrome, leaving no shadows. He twists in the restraints fruitlessly - there is no escaping this time. There is no Finn to save him, now.

He hears the clank of heavy steps behind him. Fear claws its way into his throat, making it impossible to speak. Poe’s hands shake and push against the restraints with renewed fervor. In a flash, there’s a gloved hand gripping his throat. His gaze is forced forward, locked to the dark, blank mask of Kylo Ren in front of him, forcing him to stare at his own distorted reflection on the polished surface. 

He knows what happens next, and that’s what makes it even more terrifying. Poe tries to slam his mental shields up, but he’s too late - Kylo Ren is already scouring his mind like steel wool, dredging up every memory and detail about the Resistance Poe has. Poe thrashes against the restraints - _it’s not real it can’t be real it’s just a dream_ \- but the guilt and failure still roil in his gut, and Kylo Ren doesn’t stop.

He starts pulling up memories of Poe’s family, makes him watch his father get the news of his mother’s death and relive the day of the funeral over and over and over again - but then, something changes. Poe sees his mother standing in their kitchen, reaching out a hand to him, but Poe can’t move. The restraints are still there. _It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream,_ he thinks, over and over again. 

Everything stops when Kylo Ren appears and stabs his mother through the stomach, the cruel glow of the lightsaber bathing everything in its sinister red light.

Poe screams when she falls, cast aside like a ragdoll, and Ren doesn’t stop there. General Organa, his squadmates - he makes every single one of them appear before him and kills them each as Poe watches helplessly. Each of them dies looking at him with hope in their eyes that Poe will save them, and each of them dies with Poe’s name on their lips like a broken promise. _It’s just a dream,_ he thinks, even as he pulls against the metal restraints and yells.

He feels Kylo Ren’s grip on his throat again, and the torture room comes back into focus, now cast in shadow. Poe can feel the wetness on his cheeks, tear tracks dripping off his jaw. The grip on his throat abates as Kylo Ren steps back and drags something into view from behind him. He wants to close his eyes and wake up, but he can’t.

Rey stands in front of him, hands and mouth bound with white cloth. _No, no no no no no-_

Her eyes are bright and defiant even as Kylo Ren steps forward and stabs her through the throat.

Poe screams. She falls as Kylo Ren drags the blade from her neck and he kicks her aside. Poe wants to take Kylo Ren and stab him with his own lightsaber, wants to hold Rey close and sob, wants to do _something_ , but he _can’t move_. He can only watch. 

The sick feeling in his gut makes him want to retch. _It’s my fault, oh god, I let them die - he knows everything because of me - they’re all dead because I **failed** -_

Kylo Ren reaches into the darkness one last time and drags out one more person.

Finn. It’s _Finn_ , and Poe breaks. Finn, no shackles, no bonds, looks right at Poe with his bright eyes full of love and hope, like he knows Poe can save him, _will_ save him, no matter what.

Poe can feel his wrists and ankles bleed as he shoves them against the restraints. He screams until he can’t anymore, begs Finn to run, begs Kylo Ren to kill him instead. He deserves it, he’s failed everyone - his mother, the rebellion, _Rey_ \- he can’t let Finn die, too.

Finn reaches out to him.

Poe can hear the crack of the lightsaber through his own screams as Kylo Ren cuts a path through Finn’s spine.

Kylo Ren steps forward and gently takes Poe’s chin in his hand, a mockery of a lover’s caress. He looks at Poe through the mask; Poe can feel his eyes burn into his own.

“You’ve failed, Poe.” It’s a whisper in his ear, and he chokes out one last sob.

The bright burn in his abdomen is almost a mercy.

~~*~~

Poe screams himself awake. He jolts upright, throws off the blankets that have tangled around his arms and legs during his thrashing sleep. He fumbles for the lights near the bed, but gives up after a few moments. He focuses on his breathes, listens to them move from harsh pants to forced smoothness. Past his door, he can hear the sounds of the base at night - the beep of machinery, the sound of shuffling people in late-night shifts, the far-off calls of indistinct animals. He can feel the rapidly cooling sweat on his skin, how his shirt clings uncomfortably to his frame, but he doesn’t trust his legs enough to stand, much less walk, to get a new shirt.

He scoots closer to the wall behind him, rests upright against it, and tries to keep steadying his breathing. _In, two, three (it was just a dream it was just a dream). Out, two, three, four, five, six. In, two, three-_

A knock at the door startles him. It takes him two or three tries, but he finally calls out a weak ‘come in’.

Finn and Rey both slip into the room with concern writ on their faces. Finn speaks first. “Rey heard you, and she woke me up because she thought you might wanna see me, and she has more experience with this sort of thing, so-” He gestures to himself and Rey. “We’re here.”

Poe smiles. _Leave it to these two to be the help brigade._ He pats the bed next to him on either side instead of speaking, because he doesn’t trust his voice quite yet. They both get the hint.

Rey climbs over his legs and wrestles herself into the space between Poe and the wall. Finn squishes them all further onto the one-man cot and sits on Poe’s other side, one leg dangling off the edge. They both rest against Poe, Rey curling into his side and resting her head on his chest, Finn wrapping his arms around Poe’s waist and letting Poe’s head rest against his chest. It’s just barely comfortable enough to not want to move, but Poe wouldn’t move for the world. He thinks Rey and Finn wouldn’t, either.

He can feel Rey’s cold toes pressed against his ankles, and Finn’s warm breath tickles at the curls on his head. He rests a hand on top of Rey’s head, gently teasing her hair out of its bun and braids and sifting his fingers through it. His other hand goes on top of Finn’s own, threading their fingers together.

None of them speak. They all know what the Resistance has cost them - will continue to ask them to pay, and they will all pay it gladly. Even if it tears them to pieces in the end.

Poe relaxes against the solidity of Finn and curls into Rey’s warmth, feels them respond in kind. He’s not going back to sleep tonight, he knows, but they’re both slowly drifting off once more, lost in dreams of their own. He prays they’re peaceful. They deserve peace.

Even if this does tear them to pieces, they will go together - that he’s sure of.

Poe closes his eyes and breathes until morning comes.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a kudos/bookmark/comment if you liked it! i really appreciate them and they make me wanna write more :D:D
> 
> edit: also if u can tell me where the title's from u get brownie points :>


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